Fishermen at Deep Creek Lake report that they are catching smallmouth bass on tubes and soft plastics that resemble crawfish off of main lake and secondary rocky points. Largemouth bass fishing has been good near floating docks and fishermen have been skipping soft plastic baits under the docks with good results. The bluegills are reported to be staging near the shallower coves in preparation for spawning and chain pickerel can be found near most any cover such as fallen trees along the shoreline.

John Mullican sent us this report from the western region. The month of June brings many options for fishermen. The upper Potomac is in great shape and the fishing has been excellent for smallmouth bass. They have been taking crankbaits, spinnerbaits, topwaters, grubs, tubes - pretty much whatever you like to use will work right now.

Trout fishermen in central Maryland may want to try Owens Creek this month. Owens Creek is subject to catch-and-return, artificial lures only regulations from June 1 through the end of February. Adult brown trout were stocked this week and combined with trout leftover from the earlier stockings, will provide good fishing through the summer. Fly fishing is particularly effective and during June fishermen can expect a variety of hatches. Some of the effective mayfly patterns to have on hand during the early summer include light cahills (#14), blue quills (#18-20), and blue-winged olives (#18-20). Also keep an eye out for tan caddisflies (#14).

We recently completed electro-fishing surveys of the C&O Canal in the vicinity of Great Falls in Montgomery County. All of the permanently watered sections of the canal offer opportunities for sunfish and largemouth bass. Widewater, a medium-sized and fairly deep lake, is also part of the canal system and is located adjacent to Great Falls. Our sampling here found a very good fishery for largemouth bass, bluegill, and black crappie with bass just over 6 pounds collected. Josh Henesy a fisheries tech from the Lewistown office holds up a pair of five and six pound largemouth collected by electro-fishing at Widewater on the C&O Canal.

John Mullican also reported to us that two wader decontamination stations to prevent the spread of an invasive alga called Didymo or “Rock Snot” will be installed at parking areas on Big Hunting Creek this Friday with additional stations erected at other area streams in the next two weeks. One will be placed at the parking lot just east of the Joe Brooks Memorial and one will be place at the parking lot at the Camp Peniel Bridge to start. For more information refer to the article in the Central/Southern Reports by Fisheries biologist Charlie Gougeon or go to this link. www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/recreational/indexinland.html#4c

Central/Southern Region:

Central Region fisheries biologist Charlie Gougeon sent in this report about a recent disturbing discovery on the Gunpowder and what is being done to prevent the spread of this invasive alga. Thursday (05/22/08), Mark Staley and I assisted Jonathan McKnight (DNR - Associate Director for Habitat Conservation) in setting up six (6) wader cleaning stations along the Gunpowder Falls tailwater (Baltimore County). The cleaning stations were placed at strategic locations along the tailwater to allow river users, particularly angler, an opportunity to clean their boots and equipment used in the river. The wader cleaning stations are designed to decontaminate the invasive alga, "Didymo”, more commonly referenced as "rock snot". The alga was identified for the first time in Maryland on 04/28/08. The algae sample was taken to Mr. Walt Butler (RAS) for identification. The sample was collected at Falls Road on 04/25/08 by DNR Fisheries Biologist Mark Staley at the request of Central Region Manager Charlie Gougeon. Charlie Gougeon transported the sample to Walt Butler for the confirmation identification. Backwater Anglers (the local fly outfitter on the Gunpowder Falls tailwater) has been extremely supportive in the efforts to spread the word to anglers and have offered their service in maintaining the wader cleaning stations. Each cleaning station must be periodically refreshed with a 5% solution of salt water for the cleaning tubs. Anglers are being asked to add the mixed solution to the tubs as needed. Those interested in helping maintain the 5% solution mixes should contact Charlie Gougeon at cgougeon@dnr.state.md.us or call at 410-442-2080 or 301-854-6060. It is our hope that anglers and river users will continue to spread the word. Our DNR website has linked numerous informational aids about Didymo and the cleaning stations please visit them and encourage others to do so as well. www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/recreational/indexinland.html#4c

Largemouth bass are reported to be still spawning in a number of the colder bodies of water such as the larger reservoirs in the central region. Most of the largemouth bass have completed their spawning activities in both regions but the cool spring has caused the spawn to be drawn out in a number of areas. Matt Juskelis reported in that the water temperature at Rocky Gorge just broke 70-degrees and that he witnessed some spawning activity still going on and sent in a picture of his son Andy Juskelis holding a nice largemouth for the camera before releasing it. Other fishermen are reporting that bluegills are also spawning and can be found hovering nearing nests.

Fishermen looking for largemouth bass in the tidal rivers of the two regions are finding many bass are now in the post-spawn mode of behavior and are actively feeding outside of the spawning areas. The slightly deeper water outside of grass beds and just about any sunken wood in deeper water offers a good hideout for largemouth waiting to ambush prey. Largemouth bass fishermen on the tidal Potomac report good fishing near the Spoils near the deeper water and good topwater action over milfoil beds in the early morning hours. The current water temperature in the tidal Potomac is about 70-degrees. Fishermen fishing for largemouth bass can at times find other fish going for their offerings; sometimes it may be an aggressive channel catfish or a chain pickerel and other times, especially in the tidal Potomac watershed snakeheads are encountered.Shawn Wilson sent in this report and a picture of a little fishing adventure on Mattawoman Creek. This is a picture of a Snakehead caught in Mattawoman Creek on Memorial Day May 26th, 2008. We also saw a lot of top water activity by what looked like very large Snakeheads in the grass beds along the shoreline in Mattawoman. These fish were on top of the water chasing other fish through the tops of the grass and looked to be roughly 24-30 inches long.

The Patuxent Research Station in Laurel will hold its annual Kids Fishing Day on June 14 at Cash Lake. Call 301-974-5766 for more information; this is always a well organized event for children and a great way to spend the day with your children the day before Father’s Day for all the dads and moms out there.

Eastern Region:

The waters of the eastern region; whether they be small lakes and ponds or the tidal rivers and creeks are warming up fast now that daytime temperatures have been in the low 80’s. Most largemouth bass are now in a post-spawn mode of behavior and actively feeding. The water temperatures are still below 70-degrees for the most part so largemouth bass and other fish are roaming and not confined to seeking cool waters during the day yet. A wide variety of lures have been working for fishermen this past week. Fishermen casting topwater lures over grass beds in relatively shallow water are catching largemouth in the early morning hours. Many of the bass are posted outside the edges of grass beds and spatterdock during the day and small crankbaits, spinnerbaits and soft plastics should work well. This is a great time of the year to fish the smaller farm ponds and impoundments before summertime water temperatures soar. Tom Hrynyshyn was fishing in one of the many small farm ponds that dot the eastern shore when he caught and released this largemouth bass that weighed over 6-pounds.

A number of the tidal rivers in the eastern region offer good fishing for largemouth bass and these bass are also in a post-spawn mode now and focused on feeding. In most situations in the tidal rivers from the upper shore to the lower shore the best action is often at the bottom end of a falling tide. Largemouth bass can be found on the outside and deeper edges of spatterdock beds; especially where the water drops off a steep edge and most any sunken wood such as blow downs and stumps. Old docks and piers should never be over looked and a skillful angler who can skip a plastic worm or grub under a dock stands a good chance of hooking up with a lurking bass.

Fishing for channel catfish remains good in a number of the regions tidal rivers such as the Choptank, Chester and Nanticoke. Shoreline access can be found in many areas including county boat ramps. This is also a great time of the year to fish for bluegills either with a small popping bug and a fly rod or a simple bobber and worm rig.

There will be a kids fishing derby this Saturday June 7th at the boat ramp area in Martinak State Park from 9am to 12 noon. For more information call 410-479-8120. This Saturday there will also be a kids fishing derby at the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Cambridge. The contest will be held at Hog Range; with registration at 8:00 am, the contest starts at 9:00 am and runs till 12:00 noon. There will be a frog jumping contest immediately after the fishing contest ends and prizes will awarded in a number of categories. Children are urged to bring their own fishing gear and frogs. For more information call Maggie Briggs at 410-901-6124 or 410-228-2677.